Sean Carlson Hired as New Head Coach of Track & Field/Cross Country at University of Colorado
By Jonathan Gault and Robert JohnsonMultiple sources have confirmed to LetsRun.com that Sean Carlson has been hired as the new director of track & field and cross country at the University of Colorado. Carlson will replace Mark Wetmore, whose contract was not renewed this summer after winning eight NCAA cross country titles in 29 years as head coach in Boulder.
Carlson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from LetsRun.com.
Carlson, 37, was most recently the head cross country coach at the University of Tennessee from 2022-24. In his first year in Knoxville, he guided the Volunteer men to the NCAA cross country championships for the first time in 17 years and coached Dylan Jacobs to the NCAA indoor 5,000m title. Last season, the Tennessee women finished 6th at the NCAA cross country championships in the program’s first appearance at nationals since 2006.
Carlson at the 2022 NCAA cross country championships
Carlson is best known for his stint at Notre Dame from 2011-22, where he began as an assistant and worked his way up to men’s head coach of track & field and cross country, developing a reputation as a fierce recruiter. Carlson coached the Irish men to the NCAA distance medley relay title in 2019 and Yared Nuguse to the 2019 NCAA 1500m title and a spot on the 2021 US Olympic team. In cross country, the Irish men finished 8th, 2nd, and 9th in Carlson’s final three years. The highlight was that runner-up finish at the 2020 NCAA meet, rescheduled to March 2021, where Notre Dame scored 87 points but were beaten by an incredible 60-point performance by Northern Arizona.
Colorado is coming off a tumultuous season following an investigation into the program’s body composition testing. While a number of prominent alums stood by Wetmore and his former assistant Heather Burroughs, an independent review, published in June 2023, found that a “significant number” of athletes had been negatively impacted by the practice.
During his three decades in Boulder, Wetmore built Colorado into one of the NCAA’s premier distance program and the job of his successor was viewed as one of the most prestigious in the NCAA. The Colorado men have qualified for the last 32 NCAA cross country championships, the longest active streak in the NCAA.
But Wetmore’s tenure ended on a down note. The men’s 25th-place finish last year was the first time the Buffaloes had finished outside of the top 15 since the streak began in 1992. And the women, who have a 15-year NCAA streak of their own, were just 19th at NCAAs last year, the team’s worst finish since 2009.
Talk about the development on our messageboard: *MB Sean Carlson to Colorado Official.
